My Smart Doll! :D box opening

[davidd]

Inspired by a number of factors, including influencers here at this forum, on Flickr, and on Instagram, I recently (mid-September 2018) purchased my first... and then a second... Smart Doll. Until now, due to pesky "real world" necessities, I have not had time for a properly photographed unboxing of my first Smart Doll. (A quickly snapped series of unboxing photos of my second Smart Doll appears in the previous post in this topic.)

So finally, here she is: Smart Doll Symphony, in the "tea" skin tone:

Smart Dolls arrive packed in a canvas tote bag inside a sturdy cardboard box.
Unlike when Missy_Crane purchased her Smart Doll, the current dolls
no longer include the Japanese language study card or a vinyl sample for
testing fabrics for staining. The card pictured here is a simple instruction card
with tips for caring for the doll, including the warning: Do Not Feed Smart Doll After Midnight!
The tote bag is also different, now bearing a single-color "Keep Calm and Carry a Smart Doll" logo
instead of the multi-colored "chibi" illustration.


The canvas tote bag contains the Smart Doll, securely wrapped in plastic bubble wrap,
and a cardboard box containing her (or his... they make guy dolls too) wig, accessories, and clothing.


The cardboard box contains clothing and accessories. I purchased the Default Apparel Set with my order,
which at the time consisted of a white top, blue denim jeans, white stain-prevention
leggings, and brown ankle boots. Additionally, I purchased a brown leather belt, a
pair of socks, and a set of extra hands. Also enclosed in the box are the doll's wig and a stand.


This is the Default Apparel Set available at the time of my purchase: white top, blue jeans, stain-prevention
leggings, and brown low-top boots. The belt, the socks, and the hand pack are additional purchases.
The stand is included with the basic doll.


Smart Doll Symphony with the outer bubble wrap removed.


Say "Hi" to Smart Doll!
A basic Smart Doll arrives wearing the clothing seen here:
a white sports bra (not the longer camisole as in Missy_Crane's post)
and white panties.


The Smart Doll wig is packaged separately. An elastic wig cap fits over the doll's head.


"Wait... no! Just... no! This is NOT what my hair looks like in the web site photos!"

I was just messing with her; that's a Taeyang Captain Hook wig. I kinda like it,
even if Symphony doesn't seem to. But since I ordered her on September 19,
International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I'm sure she has more than a hint of pirate in her!


Okay, real wig now. (I found putting the wig on properly to be challenging, even after watching
the "How To" video on the Smart Doll web site. I think the center part may be slightly misaligned.
But it could just be me. Besides, tousled hair gives her character; or we could always go back to the Cap'n Hook wig!)


And here she is: a basic Smart Doll in all her under-dressed awesomeness!


Smart Doll Photography Tip No. 1: an Emerging From The Tote Bag photo is a required element for every new Smart Doll
introduced into an Instagram photo stream. Look through almost any Smart Doll photo account and you will find
Emerging From The Tote Bag photos. It's one of those "gotta do it" things.


Oh, look! Here's Symphony's friend Harmony in her Emerging From The Tote Bag pic!


It's a Two-Fer! Double Tote Bag Emerging Smart Dolls!


"We totally need to take pictures of this to post to Instagram!"


Harmony's snapshot of Symphony


Symphony's snapshot of Harmony


Smart Doll Symphony wearing the September 2018 Default Apparel Set
(Items included in the Default Apparel Set change from time to time.)

[Alliecat]

WOW. They are super cute!!
Congrats -- I'm glad you finally got them out of the boxes! Are you smitten now?? because you had some doubts...?
Love the cute sequence of them meeting and taking selfies. Do they stand easily on their own?
Hope to see many adventures with them.

[dargosmydaddy]

The dual snapshots are adorable! Smart Dolls don't do much for me, but yours appear to have personality, and I like their wigs.

[davidd]

WOW. They are super cute!!
Congrats -- I'm glad you finally got them out of the boxes! Are you smitten now?? because you had some doubts...?
Love the cute sequence of them meeting and taking selfies. Do they stand easily on their own?

Yeah, they're pretty cute! Don't start looking at #smartdoll photos on Instagram, or you, too, may find yourself selling stuff you never thought you'd part with on eBay to raise funds to buy one... or more than one.

I did have doubts, and I still do to an extent. The main thing that bothers me about Smart Dolls is the same thing that bothers me about most dolls: the joints are too prominent. Fortunately there is a lot of Smart Doll clothing available that covers or otherwise disguises the joints. You can see on the Smart Doll web site that even the designer of the dolls doesn't seem to like the eosed joints, and most of the photos that he posts manage to cover the joints. I was hoping that, for what they cost, these dolls would have better finishing around the articulation points. That said, the articulation points are very, very good. The dolls are much more posable than any other doll I've ever seen, and the poses are quite natural and fluid rather than being stiff and awkward. Or, at least, the poses can be natural and fluid. Posing these dolls takes some practice.

Yes, they stand surprisingly easily on their own. In the fully clothed photo she is standing on her own. In the underwear photo, you can just make out the tip of the telescopic stand behind her right (screen left) foot. The included stand fits into a slot on the back of the doll. The stand is designed to be easily hidden behind the doll for photos. The dolls were designed with doll photography in mind.

Smart Dolls don't do much for me, but yours appear to have personality, and I like their wigs.

I was not impressed the first several times I saw Smart Doll photos. But then I ran across some superb photos by excellent photographers that really brought the dolls to life. That's exactly the same way I got pulled into the Pullip world; I didn't like Pullips for the longest time, but then I started seeing some really great photos that gave the dolls personality and life.

Those wigs are tricky to get placed correctly. I'm still not quite happy with how they are fitted, but I'll eventually get it right... I hope. Or I can go back to that Taeyang wig... which I think looks kinda cool, actually!

[Cornflower Blue]

They kneel ((90 degrees bend) but not sit down on their legs, if that makes sense, and they are not meant to be turned to the side at the knee. I understand why, because the knee joint would have to be a lot bigger and uglier, but they are posing limitations.

I keep knocking the wig off of mine. I think some velcro is in order.

[Offgenemi]

Them taking each other’s photo for social media is so funny and cute ! I think smart dolls are spreading like wild fire. Two years ago in puddle two people had them and this year that number increased more and several other people I follow online got one (or two like you). I am more interested in the male doll but I was thinking if I get any I would get a pair. I like that the creator is the doll is very outspoken, it is very nice that he is sharing the back stage with his followers.
Going back to the main reason for my comment: congratulations! They are lovely girls!

[Cornflower Blue]

Both Harmony and Symphony are adorable! I can't wait to see what you do with them.

[davidd]

I think smart dolls are spreading like wild fire.

That seems to be the case. I kind of feel like a "trend follower" by getting them. But I think they will be fun.

I eect the trend to continue building for a while. Then, like Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch kids, it may very well crash. Perhaps, two or three or five years from now, Smart Dolls will be available on eBay for a fraction of their current prices.

[Cornflower Blue]

I think the trend started with Volks Dolfie Dreams and Smart Dolls are a more easily attainable alternative. More and more of the bjd companies are offering bjds with anime style faces, too.

[davidd]

Smart Dolls Jane (Smart Doll Harmony) and Trivia (Smart Doll Symphony) thank the #dollstagram community for 100 followers on Instagram.

Actually, the adorable schtick is mostly an act. Janie and Triv are savvy and cynical when it comes to Instagram, and they know it's unlikely the thinly veiled sarcasm of their Instagram posts, or their penchant for dressing mostly in khaki and olive drab, will attract the same number of views or followers as the Top Tier Smart Doll accounts. But they're willing to play the "cutesy game" for a little while, just for laffs.


Triv (Smart Doll Symphony) and Janie (Smart Doll Harmony) wrapped up a few small gifts to send to their online friend Izzy Gray the Smart Doll.

Izzy belongs to... errr... I mean lives with one of my Instagram contacts, who, in a total coincidence, purchased her Smart Doll within days of my first Smart Doll purchase, and we both bought... I mean adopted... (I know, I know, these things are like Cabbage Patch Kids or something, only without the birth certificate) the same doll, Smart Doll Symphony. So the two Instagram Symphonys naturally had to become best friends.

If it's all the same with you guys, I'm just gonna post my occasional Smart Doll pics in this topic rather than starting a new one. I think I already have a separate topic for Smart Doll photo-stories... most of which have not yet progressed beyond the vague idea stage.

[neon_jellyfish]

How did I even miss this thread?

Super-pretty pics of super-pretty dolls!

[Alliecat]

They're so cute.
The whole online culture of 'likes' & 'followers' is kind of nonsense, encouraging us to post things for attention, and to fish for 'likes'. Much of which is pretty mindless -- click and keep scrolling; 5 minutes from now will they even remember they liked what I posted? Feh.
That's why I prefer the more personal format of a forum, or at least some kind of interaction where you know someone took more than 3 seconds to look at what you posted.
/end rant
Would be up to the mods to say whether you should start your own thread, but, yes, do keep posting pix of them! For those of us who don't do instagram.

[davidd]

Unboxing of Smart Doll number three – Kanata:

Opening the Box – Smart Doll Tote Bag

It's In the Bag! – Smart Doll Kanata and Accessories

"FINALLY! I've been stuck in this silly box and bag since last December – TEN MONTHS! What's up with that?!"

"And what happened to my HAIR? This hot mess is nothing like what's on the web site!"

"Arright... time to get out of this box and this bag!"

"There, that's better!"

Behold! Smart Doll Kanata

Still looking a bit rumpled after spending MONTHS sealed up in her shipping box!

"What in the world is THIS? I thought being a Smart Doll was all about wearing

fashionable and ex-pensive designer clothes! Oh well, at least my hair is better now!"

"Uhm... weren't my eyes green just a few minutes ago?"

"Okay... maybe this uniform jumpsuit thing is kinda cute in a utilitarian sort of way!

It would have looked really great with my green eyes!"

Welcome Smart Doll Kanata aka Danielle... or Nelly for short!

"Wait... you're calling me NELLIE? What kind of name is NELLIE? Smart Dolls are supposed to have names

that are exotic, alluring, thematically significant, or evocative of moods and mystery! NELLIE? C'mon, man!"

[Elfy]

One of my cousins is called Danielle, but we’ve always called her Dani for short.

[werepuppy]

Nelly is a cool name.

... Though I do keep humming Nelly the Elephant...